Three golfers from the High Desert shoot under par to advance in the CIF-SS regional

Some of the most successful athletes will tell you that short-term memory is key to being a top competitor.

That certainly proved to be true for Apple Valley’s Brady Fonville on Monday afternoon at the CIF-Southern Section Individual Regionals Central Division, hosted by Bear Valley Country Club.

Fonville found himself in a four-way tie for first place with three holes remaining. But after missing a putt that would have been a birdie on the No. 6 hole, his 17th of the day, he found himself trailing Foothill’s Will Tanaka by a stroke.

“I didn’t think too much about it because I didn’t want to dwell on that really,” Fonville said. “Just really tried to keep in a good headspace

On the No. 7 hole, Fonville’s drive appeared to be a beauty, until the ball ended in the greenside bunker.

Unrattled, Fonville grabbed his sand wedge club and worked his magic.

“I wasn’t too worried about it,” Fonville said. “I was just trying to get on the green and give myself a putt. I knew that my putter was on fire on the front nine. So really, I was just trying to give myself a good look”

Money.

Fonville sank his putt to end the day six under par with a score of 66.

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“That was just pure excitement, knowing I played as well as I did,” Fonville said. “It feels really good to shoot that low in this tournament.”

Tanaka followed that up with a putt for birdie and missed. Tanaka settled for a par and both golfers ended tied at six under.

But after a card-off, Tanaka won the tiebreaker to capture first place. Tanaka ended the back-nine holes with a score of 34, while Fonville was right behind at 35.

Fonville’s putting was top-notch for much of the day. After a bogey on the No. 15 hole, Fonville went on a run of birdying six of the next seven holes, including four straight, as he slowly crept up the leaderboard after being one over following the bogey.

“It was a real blast playing with all these great guys. Good group. It was real fun,” Fonville said.

Two other local golfers will join Fonville at the CIF-SS Individual Finals on May 16, at Temecula Creek Golf Course, as the top 20 move on.

Fonville’s teammate Brody Earnest ended in a tie with four others for fourth place at 68.

After four birdies and an eagle, Earnest was tied with Fonville and two others at five under par after 15 holes. But Earnest bogeyed on the following hole, to go along with two pars to end at four under par.

Hesperia’s Brady McColm will join the Apple Valley golfers in Temecula. McColm ended tied with three others with a score of 69 with five birdies and shot a 34 over the back nine holes, and then 35 on the front nine.

Here’s a look at how the rest of the local golfers did at Bear Valley Country Club.

• 23. Nate Carlson, Academy of Careers & Exploration — Carlson just missed the cut of participating in a playoff for 20th place, ending with a score of 72. The sophomore struggled early on with a pair of double bogeys on the No. 7 and 11 holes. Carlson had an eagle on the No. 13 hole, which is a par 5 at 505 yards, to put him at three under par. But on the 14th hole, Carlson triple bogeyed, and went back to even. Following that, Carlson went on a stretch of four straight pars before his next birdie to put him back at one under.
• 28. Sullivan Kilkenny, Hesperia — The junior ended the day one over par at 73. Kilkenny had three birdies on the day, but also two bogeys and a double bogey. Kilkenny qualified for the tournament by taking third place at the Mojave River League finals with a two-day score of 145.
• 51. Luke Hallett, Hesperia — Hallett ended the day with a 77 and three birdies. But he struggled for much of the day with eight bogeys. Hallett qualified for the tournament by taking fourth place at the Mojave River League finals with a two-day score of 153.
• 55. Cody Grounds, Academy of Careers & Exploration — The sophomore struggled with two double bogeys and four bogeys giving him a score of 78. Grounds, who took second place at the Cross Valley League Finals with a two-day total of 149, also had two birdies on the day.

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• 78. Bryce Johnson, Academy of Careers & Exploration — Johnson ended the day with a score of 82 after struggling with eight bogeys. He qualified for the tournament after taking third place at the Cross Valley League Finals with a two-day score of 153.
• 104. Tristan Schwartz, Granite Hills — The junior had the best showing of all golfers from the Desert Sky League with a score of 100. Schwartz qualified for the tournament by taking first place at the DSL Finals.
• 115. Ian Marquez, Silverado — Marquez had a birdie on the No. 18 hole and ended the day with a score of 106. The senior took second place at the Desert Sky League Finals.
• 117. Connor Faber, Granite Hills — Faber ended with a score of 114, and qualified for the tournament by taking fourth place at the Desert Sky League Finals.
• 118. Isaac Cibrian, Victor Valley — Cibrian ended the day with a score 115 and qualified for the tournament by taking third place at the Desert Sky League Finals.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Three golfers from the High Desert shoot under par to advance in the CIF-SS regional